Hasta La Ideas

Reporting by Morgan Walsh, photos by Ben Gross and Ray Hu

“Americans eat tall food.” This was what Tom, the representative for the line Compleat told us when we quizzically picked up a laptop-shaped lunch box. As a Norwegian, Tom explained how his lunch fit in the hard-sided Foodbook (pictured below), a slice of bread here, a slice of bread there, another here and another there—each neatly separated by a cross-shaped removable partition. Though Americans may not typically bring four pieces of bread for lunch, we were already brainstorming other edibles that that would travel well in Foodbook. The obvious choice is pizza, but other ideas included a chicken breast with rice, bowtie pasta salad, a salmon filet with sliced carrots and peppers.

Foodskin (at top and below) is Foodbook’s smaller cousin—size-wise it is the iPad Mini to a Macbook Pro. But rather than a double-sided plastic shell, one side acts as a frame for a stretchy silicone film. This silicone has a dual purpose, it can accommodate bulkier or oddly shaped items, but also serves as a retainer, keeping an unwieldy (and tall!) baguette sandwich neatly stacked. Once the food (or anything that needs secure transportation) is removed, Foodskin returns to a flat state and fits neatly into a purse or tote bag.

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